Sero – prevalence of Human Immunodeficency Virus (HIV) infection among antenatal clinic attendees in St Luke's Hospital, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection was estimated among pregnant women attending clinic at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua – Uyo in Akwa Ibom State. A total of 281 samples were tested serologically by the serial algorithm method using three standard kits namely Abbott Determine HIV1/2, the Chembio HIV1/2 STATPAK assay and the Trinity Biotech UniGold HIV tests. Results indicated that 24(12.1%) were infected with HIV. The percentage prevalence by educational status was: women with no formal education 37.5%; those with secondary education, 11.3% and women with tertiary education 5.7%. Estimates of HIV prevalence by age indicated that the age range of 15-29 was the most affected with a prevalence of 37.8%, followed by 30-40 with a prevalence of 17.7% and 41- 49 with O%. HIV prevalence by parity showed 15.5% in the first pregnancy, 8.5% in the second and 10.5% in those with two or more pregnancies. Analysis also revealed that the unmarried and unemployed were more affected than the married and employed. It is evident that HIV infection prevailed most in the least educated, most tender in age, unmarried and unemployed. Therefore, periodic survey and targeted intervention programmes should be harnessed to help control and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS among pregnant women.KEY WORDS: HIV, sero- prevalence, Antenatal attendee

Fifty years of oil exploration in Nigeria: The paradox of plenty

It is expected that countries with an abundance of natural resources should prosper. Yet over many years, it has been observed that nations rich in oil, gas, or mineral resources have been disadvantaged in the drive for economic progress. The concept of resource curse which refers to theobservation that nations with rich endowments of natural resources [oil as in the case of Nigeria] often dramatically under perform economically relative to what one would expect was used in this study. The methods employed in data collection, primarily from secondary sources include; literature review of NNPC publications, national dailies and newsmagazines; internet reports on OPEC, oil production in Nigeria, etc. Descriptive statistic was used in data analysis. The results revealed that the oil wealth was initially well applied towards the development of the country. Overtime, successive governments began to mismanage it and a situation like this had given rise to other contemporary oil nations overtaking Nigeria. The consequence is that the early gains of oil disappeared in the face of declining quality of general infrastructure across the country. The growingreliance of the country on oil and gas alone may undermine the democratic structure-rule of law, political stability [as in the case of militancy in the Niger Delta region], government effectiveness and the fight against corruptio

Evaluation of the Effects of Okigwe Cattle Market Wastes on the Surrounding Agricultural Soil Parameters

Soil enzyme activities and bioloads of various organisms as influenced by Cattle Market activities were evaluated in Okigwe, Imo State. All the bacterial groups estimated have their highest values in the soil in which the slaughter house wastes were disposed while the control was the least. Lipolytic bacterial counts ranged from 1.7 x 103 – 2.1 x 104 cfu/g; proteolytic bacteria 2.1 x 103 – 1.7 x 105 cfu/g and total coliforms were 2.3 x 104 – 2.7 x 105 cfu/g. The total heterotrophic bacterial count ranged from 3.7 x 106 to 3.7 x 108 and nitrifying bacteria 2.1 – 104 – 3.7 x 105cfu/g. The soil pH changed towards slight alkalinity (6,4-7.6) while the change in temperature was not significant (28.2 – 30.4oC). The total organic carbon, nitrate and phosphate were in the order of control slaughter house waste soil > Control while lipase and urease had slaughter house waste soil > Cattle Market soil > Control. Cellulase activity was also higher in cattle market soil than slaughter house waste and control. The activities caused increase in both bacterial loads and enzyme activities. Keywords: Physiochemical parameters, Soil enzymes, Cattle waste, BacteriaBio-Research Vol. 6 (2) 2008: pp. 367-37

POLITICAL REGIME TYPE, LIBERALIZATION AND FISCAL DEFICITS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

Chronic and persistent incidence of public deficits has been one of the debated issues in the past four decades. Many analysts have attempted to associate the poor fiscal outcome with military rule, thereby wrongly exonerating the democratic regime of not accumulating deficits. This study examines the relationship between government-type and fiscal deficits in Nigeria using time series data for the periods 1970-2010. The study applied econometric technique of ordinary least square method (OLS) and found that government-type does matter for fiscal operations in Nigeria. Specifically, the study found that democratic regimes in Nigeria do accumulate fiscal deficits contrary to earlier expectation. In addition, the findings show that there was strong inclination for fiscal deficits to decrease with financial liberalization, while liberalization of foreign trade leads to the increase in fiscal deficits. It is recommended that government should sustain the financial sector reforms in Nigeria, encourage productive spending on infrastructure for economic growth and development under a democratic atmosphere. Appropriate mechanisms should be put in place for efficiency in public financial management. The principle of value for money should be imbibed in execution of public project to ensure accountability and transparency in the democratic government

Fifty years of oil exploration in Nigeria: the paradox of plenty

It is expected that countries with an abundance of natural resources should prosper. Yet over many years, it has been observed that nations rich in oil, gas, or mineral resources have been disadvantaged in the drive for economic progress. The concept of resource curse which refers to the observation that nations with rich endowments of natural resources [oil as in the case of Nigeria] often dramatically under perform economically relative to what one would expect was used in this study. The methods employed in data collection, primarily from secondary sources include; literature review of NNPC publications, national dailies and newsmagazines; internet reports on OPEC, oil production in Nigeria, etc. Descriptive statistic was used in data analysis. The results revealed that the oil wealth was initially well applied towards the development of the country. Overtime, successive governments began to mismanage it and a situation like this had given rise to other contemporary oil nations overtaking Nigeria. The consequence is that the early gains of oil disappeared in the face of declining quality of general infrastructure across the country. The growing reliance of the country on oil and gas alone may undermine the democratic structure-rule of law, political stability [as in the case of militancy in the Niger Delta region], government effectiveness and the fight against corruptionKEYWORDS: Resource curse, Nigeria, Oil and Gas, GDP, Infrastructure, Corruptio

Morphometric and hydraulic geometry assessment of a gully in se nigeria

Gully erosion represents one of the most devastating form of land degradation in the Sedimentary Formations underlying south eastern Nigeria leading to both onsite and off- site adverse effects on the environment. In this paper, a surveyed section of a second-order gully located in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, SE Nigeria is analyzed. Along the gully, 20 cross-sections were established and measured with a Rover GNSS and the Base GNSS. The sections were located at variable distances, placing them in areas where active erosion was evident. In total, 19 field measurements were carried out, and the geometric characteristics of 19 cross-sections were obtained. Morphometric analyses were carried out in 421m surveyed Udo Inwang segment of the 860m long main gully. The results indicated that Udo Inwang gully was a mature gully, measured gully depth varied from 1.1m to 29m, while the shoulder or top width ranged from 26m to 98m. It is worth noting that the bed width is typically narrow ranging from 4m to 33m wide. The cross-sectional profiles were indicative of U-shape to V- shape, all with very narrow bed width and steeply sloping gully sides, which are feature of gullies developed on very loose and incoherent soils that slumps/collapses on exposure. The total volume of soil lost from the watersheds was 480,376.26m3, which translated to 18,593.64 tons/ha and the average rate of soil loss has appeared to be 476.76 ton/ ha /year. The annual average growth rate of the gully length was 22m/year. Hence, the average growth rate of gullies in the study watershed with 22 m/ year-1 laid under catastrophic or destructive type of gully erosion

Antibiogram of nasal methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from antenatal clinic attendees in a tertiary hospital, South-South Nigeria

The antibiogram of nasal methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from pregnant women attending University of Uyo Teaching Hospital was investigated using standard microbiological procedures. Out of 772 women, 180(23.3%) harboured nasal MRSA while 592 (76.7%) had MSSA (Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus). The highest frequency (33.3%) occured at week 16 while the lowest occured at week 36 of the pregnancy period. Evaluation by logistic regression showed no risk factor involvement for MRSA. The patients were evaluated on their first visit (booking) therefore the MRSA were likely community-acquired. Antibiogram of isolates showed sensitivity mostly to clindamycin (80%), amoxacillin-clavulanic acid (76.7%), ceftriazone (69.4%) and resistance to co-trimoxazole (51.7%). The asymptomatic nasal colonisation of MRSA in pregnant women may therefore be a risk factor for serious systemic infection after delivery

Seasonality of surface water contamination by heavy metals in the lower Enyong creek, s.e. Nigeria)

Surface water samples from three locations in the Lower Enyong Creek, S.E. Nigeria were sampled over six months i.e June to October (wet season) and November in dry season for heavy metals such as Cd, Mn, Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cr) using Atomic absorption spectroscopic method. Some specific physicochemical characteristics, such as temperature, hardness, alkalinity, salinity, TDS, TSS, pH and conductivity which are known to influence the interactions and dynamics of trace metal loads in water bodies were also determined. The result of the analysis indicated significant monthly variation of these parameters for the six months. Monthly summary statistics revealed a few seasonal patterns that echoed the hydrologic regime. During the short dry season in August–September period, all the sampled stream channels had lower levels of Cd, Ni, Zn, Cu Cr, Pb and Fe. Salinity, for instance, correlated strongly (p<0.05) with Cu (0.70); Cr (0.56); Ni (0.72); nitrate (0.61) and Na (0.49). However, the concentrations of most heavy metals were low, while Zn content was higher than the WHO standard for surface water which indicated significant contamination by Zn in the water body

Morphometric analysis of lower Enyong creek basin in South Eastern Nigeria; its implications for applied studies

The drainage basin analysis is important in any hydrological investigation such as study of hydrologic processes, management of wetlands, flood, erosion and landslides susceptibility studies, assessment of groundwater potential and groundwater management. Also, existing theories and models such as the laws of drainage composition can be verified. In the light of the foregoing, the present paper describes the drainage characteristics of the lower Enyong Creek, which is underlain by varying geologic formations. viz; Asu River Formations e.g the Abakiliki Anticlinorium to the recent alluvium in the south It involved detailed map-based quantitative analyses of two 4th order sub-catchments in the study area. The drainage pattern is mainly dendritic type. It is observed that the drainage density value is low which indicates the basin is highly permeable subsoil and thick vegetative cover. The elongation ratio value reveals that the basin is strongly elongated and stream abstraction process constrained by heterogeneous geologic materials. This study would help the local people to utilize the resources for sustainable development of the basin area

Coastal tourism buisness resilience in coping with crisis in Sabah, Malaysia

This paper examines the level of tourism business resilience and factors influencing the resilience as well as suggestions in enhancing tourism business resilience by the small and medium coastal tourism operators located in Sabah coastal region, Malaysia. A quantitative approach was employed by using questionnaires and supported by semi-sturctured interviews with 61 small and medium coastal tourism operators in Sabah. Findings show majority of tourism business operators generally have high perceived levels of resilience and acknowledge the importance of resilience in coping with crisis. Ownership of the businesses to ensure sustainability of the business, vast experience within the industry which leads to maintaining of its confidence and being well prepared, as well as location and its readiness to face any crisis, attributed to the business resilience. Suggestions to enhance the level of resilience include: sufficient financial resources for emergencies, development of effective contingency plans, diversification of businesses and products, relocation to new location, government and local community support, as well as the strengthening of safety measures. The findings provide in depth understanding of small and medium size, coastal tourism business resilience and subsequently its benefits to the government and tourism industry in terms of strengthening coastal business resilience in coping with crisis and disaster planning. It is also especially important in terms of providing relevant and sound approaches and strategies, that would enable the development of resilience training to guide coastal tourism businesses in other coastal locations